Thomas Christopher Flowers - WW1 Soldier

Thomas Christopher Flowers was a Driver for the Royal Field Artillery in the First World War serving in the campaigns in France and Italy for which he was awarded the Victory Medal, British War Medal and the 1914-15 Star which I have in my possession. He was born on the 24th May 1878 in the city of Durham and at the time of the 1881 census when he was the youngest of 6 children living with their widowed mother, Mary Ann who was a Laundress. At the age of 13 Thomas was working as a Coal Miners Labourer in Durham. He married Hannah Marshall on the 10th Feb 1900 in Tynemouth, Northumberland and they had a son soon after in Sunderland. At the time of the 1911 census they had two sons and two daughters and Thomas was working as a Roadman.

After the outbreak of World War 1, Thomas enlisted as a Driver in the Royal Field Artillery on the 30th January 1915. The rank of driver was equivalent to a private and was used for the men in the Royal Artillery who drove the teams of horses which pulled the guns. At the time of enlisting he was living at 33 Hallgarth Street, Durham with his wife Hannah and their three children. His enlistment forms describe him as having a fair build, being 5t 5 1/2 inches and weighing 144 lbs (65 kilograms). He was first posted to No.6 Royal Field Artillery Depot in Glasgow. On the 1st of May 1915 he was posted to No1 'B' Res Brigade, then on 5th Aug 1915 he was posted to No 4 Battery 1 A Reserve Brigade before being sent with the Expeditionary Force to France on 20th Sep 1915. On the 25th Sep 1915 he was posted to the 27th Brigade and then on the 29th May 1916 posted to the 5th Division. On the 29th Nov 1917 he was posted to Italy but the 5 Division was hurriedly called back to France where he went on the 30th Mar 1918. During this time he was convicted of irregular conduct for making an improper remark to a sergeant Jones and he was handed punishment on the 21 January for the offence that occurred the day before. The punishment was 7 days field punishment No1 which was a common punishment for minor offences during World War 1 which saw the soldier attached to a fixed object such as a post or gun wheel for up to two hours a day.

On the 29th June 1918 he was posted to the 15th Brigade where they saw further action in France. In August 1918 the 5th Division was withdrawn for rest and placed in GHQ Reserve so Thomas left France on the 6th Sep 18 but two weeks later the 5th Division was back in France forcing the German Army into retreat and he was attached to the 24th Brigade through till November 1918. On the 23rd January 1919 he embarked at Dunkirk and was demobilised on the 25th Jan 1919.

In 1939 Thomas was living with his wife and two of their adult children at 6 The Avenue in the village of Pity Me just outside Durham city. His occupation then was Roadman Rural Authority. He died in 1942 at the age of 64 and his burial service was held on the 23rd of April 1942 at St Cuthbert Church in Durham.